An Ancient sage wanted to create a place in Himachal Pradesh, having the same energy & power as Kashi. For this he chose the Nirmand village of Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh. With this though he and some of his accompanying Sadhus were carrying the sacred “Ganga Jal” in their “Kamandals” (Vessels used in ancient times by sadhus) from Haridwar. They were following the ancient path with goes through the “Nagan Valley” in Shimla. Giri Ganga Temple and Kuppar Bugyal also lie in this ancient path. Although, this path is one of the most dense pine forests in Himachal Pradesh. The Kuppar Bugyal is a beautiful meadow on top of a peak and therefore the Sages chose to rest at this place. During this time, the Ganga Jal they were carrying accidentally spilled on the ground. There immediate reaction and first words were “Giri Ganga” which means Ganga spilled/fell. A stream of water was formed and it was hence named the Giri Ganga river. The place was named after this stream and a temple was built at the bottom of Kuppar mountain.

After this incidence, Giri ganga was considered a very holy place and full of energy. The local dieties started visiting this place with the followers and slowly it became popular. There is a small pool of water locally called a “Kund” near the Kuppar peak. There is an ancient temple in Giriganga, which is said to be built during the 13th century as per the archaeological survey of India. This is very interesting, as it is believed that there was no civilization nearby during that time. The beautiful architecture of the Giri ganga temple, makes you wonder who would have built this temple complex and what kind of technology was used.